(Reporting by Cameron French) 

The Coen Bros., Joel and Ethan, are well-known for their clever scripting and directing of films like “Barton Fink”, “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men”.

But as smart as they seem to be, the brothers have a lot of fun creating characters that don’t quite measure up to their own abilities. In a word, the people they write about are dumb.

“We’ve all got an inner knucklehead, and it’s good fodder for stories,” Ethan said at a press conference in Toronto, where their newest film, “Burn After Reading,”  had its North American premiere.

The movie stars Brad Pitt as a “Gatorade-swilling dumbbell” of a gym instructor trying to blackmail a former CIA agent, played by John Malkovich. Tilda Swinton is the CIA spy’s wife, who is having an affair with a “shockingly dumb” federal marshall portrayed by George  Clooney.

Added Pitt at the same news conference: “It’s much more fun to play the guys who make the wrong choices.”

Pitt has been positively mobbed by fans in his visit to Toronto, and most likely due to that, the press conference was held under unusual circumstances for the festival. Rather than being open to all accredited press, the event was by invitation only, held at a separate location from other press conferences and few photographers were taking photos.

At the post-premiere party for “Burn After Reading” that went into the small hours of the morning, the Hollywood star was similarly fronted by security and press spokespeople as he sat in a back corner booth with friends – laughing and drinking and seeming to have a good time.

So, one can only conclude that while he might find it fun to play guys who make the wrong choices, judging by the things going on around him at Toronto, Brad’s no knucklehead.